Pisa Cemetery (Camposanto)

Camposanto Cemetery is a monumental complex of buildings on Piazza dei Miracoli.

Constructed in a cloister design with wings sprouting from a central dome, the massive complex was built on hallowed earth brought to Pisa from Calvary in the Holy Land, during the Fourth Crusade.

According to legend, this soil is reputed to reduce bodies to skeletons within a day of burial.

The cemetery is also famous for its precious frescoes. Most of the artworks were destroyed during WWII, but those that remain are displayed in the Fresco Room. The most famous are the Triumph of Death and Last Judgment.

You’ll also see Roman sarcophagi, reused during the Middle Ages as the final resting place of prominent Pisans.